How to Search Blogs for People

Internet detective work made easy

With improvements being made to search-engine optimization every day, it's easy to find people on the Internet. There are a number of "people search" websites that not only scan social media like Facebook and MySpace, but also collect data from blog sites like WordPress and Blogger. If you want to search blogs for people, here are some simple steps to accomplish your goal. The more information you have about the person, the easier this will be.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Internet access
• Credit card (optional)

Instructions

Searching the blogosphere

1. Make a list of everything you know about the person. Include email addresses, current and former employers, city they live in, etc. This will help verify that you have the right person and not someone with the same name.

2. If you have the person's email address, run it as a search on the following websites:
   http://www.blogsearchengine.com
   http://www.spokeo.com and
   http://www.intellius.com.

   These are three of the most comprehensive search engines that include public blogs. There are two options for search: free and paid. If you are serious about finding information, pay for one of the services to gain access to additional search options. With a free service, you'll gain access to basic information, usually confirming a profile on a particular site such as Facebook or MySpace. Paying for a subscription will give you access to upward of 50 sites, and allow you to see photos, links and comments the person has made or posted online.

3. If you don't have an email address, search for the person on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, where you can add the other criteria you know about the person to narrow your search. Once you have found the person's social media profile, check the page for a link to his or her blog.

4. If all else fails, type "NAME+Blog" (where NAME is the person you are looking for) into a search engine like Google or Bing. While this is the most time-consuming way to search, if you have time to pore over the listings, it is the most thorough way to find the person you are looking for. Write down clues and keep links handy, so that you can cross-reference information until you find your person's blog.

Tips & Warnings

• Email addresses and usernames are often the same for people, so if you cannot find someone with their email address, try entering just the username. The person may have switched email exchanges and kept the ID the same.

References

• Blog Search Engine